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' D. C. KNAB. Manufacture of Illuminating Gas.

Patented March 9, 1858.

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D. C. KNAB. Manufactur of I-Huminating Gas.

Patented March 9, 1858.

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Manufacture of Illuminating Gas. No. 19,575. Patented March 9, 1858.

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. Manufacture of Illuminating Gas.

Patented March 9, 1858.

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DAVID C. KNAB, F PARIS,- FRANCE.

MANUFAGTURE OF ILLUMINATING--G-AS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 19,57 5, dated March 9, 1858.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID CLOVIS KNAB, of Paris, in the Empire of France, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Manufacture of Illuminating-Gas; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,

clear, and exact description, reference being f and lignites, the products consist then rehad to the accompanying'drawmgs.

My invention relates to an improved mode or system of manufacture of illuminating gas and consists principally inthe peculiar y construction and operation of carbonizing furnaces and of other appurtenances as here'- inafter described.

What distinguishes my furnaces from all others heretofore in use or known, is that while carbonizing coal on a large scale z'. e.: from 29j to 3 tons a charge, I obtain, besides the coke, all other accessory products of the distillation such as tar, ammoniacal liquor and gas which has as great a lighting or illuminating power as that obtained in retorts at the ordinary gas works. The gas y is received in gasometers and distributed therefrom to the houses and streets, when these furnaces are established in the vicinity of cities or towns and then the furnaces are heated by coal or any other fuel; but when the gas is not utilized for lighting purposes, I use it for heating the furnaces 1n which it is generated. The furnaces being hermetically closed during the whole process of carbonization, the yield of coke is necessarily far greater than that obtained from the very best furnaces known. The coke when distilled in thick or massive layers is of a superior quality c'. e. it possesses great density and is therefore well adapted for all metallurgical purposes and constitutes an excellent fuel for locomotive boilers.

The merits of my invention consist in the simultaneous production (on a large or manufacturing scale) of compact or dense coke, of illuminating gas, of tar and of ammoniacal liquor. Qther branches of manufacture may be connected with my process for manufacturing the above mentioned products, such as ammoniacal salts, which are obtained at a very low cost and used extensively for agricultural and other purposespitch constituting an element in the manufacture of fuel which is an agglomerat-ion of coal dust-hydrocarbon liquids for illuminating purposes and also oils for the preservation of timber. All these products are of great importance, but which when obtained by t-he old process z'. e. by distillation f of coal in retorts are too dear and yield a production too limited to answer the rej quirements of the consumption.

My furnace may also advantageously be employed for the distillation of wood, turf sp'ectively in wood, turf or mineral charcoal, in gas applicable to heating furnaces, in acetic acid, tars, fatty substances in one word in all products ordinarily obtained by l' distillation in .close vessels.

Having now set forth the general characteristic features of my new process; I shall now proceed to give a detailed description of the construction of the furnaces also of the accessory apparatus used in my process.

N o. l (Pl. l) representsfa longitudinal i and horizontal section through 2 furnaces or a double furnace. In Pl. 2 Fig. l-G exhibit detailed views.

Each furnace is composed of a distillingV chamber a having a quadrangular sole, terminated at its 2 extremities by cast iron doors or traps b o which are hoisted at pleasure by means of windlasses movable along the railway e e constructed on .the top of the furnace. There are two openings o and f communicating with the interior of the distilling chamber-c is the charge hole, through which the coal is introduced, the other 7 conveys the products of the distillation to the different receivers.

g, is a hydraulic valve, which serves the purpose of establishing or of cutting off at pleasure, all communication between the furnace and the conveying pipes. The sole of the distilling chamber is heated from below by 3 flues so disposed that the rlire or flame passes from the grate Z through the central flue, at the end of which it is divided and returns through the lateral flues, the

flame then descendsV through the orifice n and issues at o into an inclined or sloping chimney.

The openings of' the orifices are regulated by means of registers or dampers formed of lire tiles or other refractory material, sliding over said orifices for the purpose of adjusting the draft during the operation. When the furnaces are heated by means of the gas produced therein, the latter is injected by means of oneA or more twyers, either into the central flue or both the central and side f lues the twyers blowing the gas into the side flues are disposed on the opposite side of the furnace.

The operation is as follows: The coal is brought in little wagons or cars Z above the charge hole c, there it drops into the distilling chamber. Workmen are placed at each extremity of the furnace to spread the charge evenly over the sole by means of rakes, hoes and other suitable implements. This done, the orifice C and the doors are hermetically closed, the joint being made tight by a tubing of clay or refuse lime from the purifier and the valve g is raised, to allow the gas, tar and ammonia to escape. The latter two products are condensed and carried o by means of a siphon tube into a cistern. The duration of the whole operation varies with the nature and density of the coal,4 also with the degree of heat applied. The mean is 7 2 hours. The charge hole C is opened and the valve closed about 6 hours before the operation is completed, when the gas which has now lost most of its illuminating power is allowed to burn freely.

When the coking is completed in the furnace the coke is to be removed from each furnace, for this purpose the windlasses are made to lift the doors and the discharging or clearing apparatus is introduced. No. 2 represents an elevation andl plan view of said apparatus. It is composed of a car or frame mounted upon rollers or wheels, to allow of its being readily placed in front of any furnace along transverse'rails laid for the purpose. A rack t carrying on its extremity a plate or clearer is moved to and fro in the direct-ion of the axis of the distilling chamber by a pinion and other suitable means for transmitting movement. The frame r being placed in front of the furnace to be discharged, the cranks are put in motion and the rack is propelled into and through the distilling chamber. The coke contained in the furnace is thereby forcibly ejected and falls upon an inclined plane 9. By reverse action of the cranks the rack is withdrawn and the apparatus is ready to be placed in front of another furnace.

The exhauster shown in the drawings by a plan view and a vertical section i-s an apparatus the effect of which is to relieve the furnaces from internal pressure which is very objectionable, because should a furnace be (No. l) arrives in the case f which is divided into two compartments, it is exhausted through the pipes 0 Z2 and forced into the gasometer through the pipes b d.

The gasometer is of a peculiar construction. The gas instead of being conveyed from below, enters the gasometer from the top or through the dome of the cylinder A. The pipes b and e conveying the gas to and from the gasometer are attached thereto and are so articulated as to yield readily to its ascending or descending motions.

n The secondary products, which may be treated within or without the gas works are tarry mattersammoniacal liquors and pyroligneous acids. y

Redistilled tar yields `essences both heavier and lighter than water. Several valuable products are extracted therefrom such as benzin essences used for illuminating purposes and` for the manufacture of ordinary varnishes, also substances used in the manufacture of carbozotic and of pic- `ric acids, of picrates of creosote suitable for the preservation of timber and nally Lof pitch which is employed either alone or combined with bitumina and agglomerated substances making a good fuel.

The ammoniacal liquors are used in the manufacture of sulte and chlorhydrates of ammonia the application of which in the arts and agriculture is becoming every day more considerable. The pyroligneous acids yield vinegar.

I claim- The distillation of coal or other equivalent substances in furnaces constructed and operated in the manner substantially as herein described.

In testimony'whereof I have signed my name to this specification before two subscribing witnesses.

D. C. KNAB.

VWitnesses GEO. HU'r'roN, C. LE NORMANDY. 

